Frequently Asked Questions - Libraries History & Trivia

Library History | Library volume count | SABIO

History of the UA Library Buildings

At the time the first UA classes began in 1891, the Library was located in one of the original campus buildings, now called "Old Main". In 1904, Estelle Lutrell was hired as the first full-time Librarian, and by the time she arrived, a new Library and Museum Building (now called Douglass) was being constructed, and she oversaw the move into this facility during 1904-05. A separate Library Building (now the Arizona State Museum) was opened in 1927 and would serve as the main campus Library for nearly 50 years.

The Science Library opened in the fall of 1963. Two additional floors were completed on it in 1971. From 1972-1976, it also housed part of the humanities collection to help ease the now overcrowded conditions in the Main Library.

The current Main Library building was completed in 1976 and opened in January 1977. In 2002, the Information Commons on the 1st floor (extending underground into the new Integrated Learning Center), and an addition to the 5th floor, were opened.

In 2004, UA English Professor Dr. Carl Berkhout curated an exhibit on Estelle Lutrell to commemorate the 100th anniversary of her arrival at UA. Some of the original exhibit material can now be viewed online in the web exhibit created by our Special Collections staff, where most of the original materials reside. The early history of the UA Library is found under the sections:

Early Years - 1905-1920s: Estelle and the University of Arizona Library's Early Years

Success Years - The 1920's and Early 1930's: A New Library for the University

How many volumes does the Library have?

as of April 24, 2008:

5,182,963 print volumes

575,320 electronic books

This figure is for UA Libraries only - Main, Science-Engineering, Fine Arts, Special Collections, Center for Creative Photography - it does not include the Law or AHSC Libraries.

What is SABIO?

SABIO was the name originally given to our first online catalog back in 1992. The word “sabio” is Spanish for a sage or wise one. (The URL of our online catalog is still http://sabio.library.arizona.edu.) Several years later, SABIO took on a broader meaning as our “Information Gateway” to all of our online resources.

UA Library homepage before 2005

The name SABIO was retired from our web site in August 2005, when our newly-designed web site was rolled out.